Thursday, August 25, 2011

Forget the Cyclone -- one of the scariest places in Brooklyn is the walkway of the Brooklyn Bridge.

Another in a long list of near-death experiences, a biker ran into a pedestrian on the bridge walkway at roughly 6 p.m. yesterday. Witnesses said that the pedestrian was in the pedestrian half of the walkway, and the biker ran into her from behind.

The biker stopped momentarily, witnesses said, but was not present as emergency responders from FDNY stabilized the victim's head and neck and carried her to a waiting ambulance.

Biker / pedestrian collisions are a frequent occurrence (here, here, here, here) on the Brooklyn Bridge, packed with thousands of pedestrians and fast-moving bikers during rush hours. Pedestrians are supposed to stay in their half of the walkway and bikers in theirs, but the narrow lanes are so crowded that this is virtually impossible.

Bikers fear oblivious tourists and darting children, and pedestrians are terrorized by a minority of bikers who blast past them, just inches away, at 30 mph.